Tesla Admits It Didn't Have A Model 3 Beta Prototype Testing In Late-2016

In Tesla’s annual filing with the Security and Exchange Commission, the company admitted that at the end of 2016, it had yet to put a Model 3 beta prototype on the road.
Tesla did commence testing of alpha Model 3 prototypes last year but the late arrival of beta testers comes despite the company recently saying that it intended on beginning production of its entry-level sedan in July, reports Autoblog.

In the 10-K filing to the feds, Tesla says “We expect that the next performance milestone to be achieved will be the successful completion of the Model 3 Beta Prototype, which would be achieved upon the determination by our Board of Directors that an eligible prototype has been completed.”

The company went on to say that as of late 2016, it was building a number of Model 3s and that a beta prototype could be selected from them. It’s therefore possible that in the two months since this filing, a beta protoype has indeed started testing.

As with the Model S and Model X before it, concerns have been raised about whether the Model 3 would be delivered in time with Musk’s ambitious projections. In late last year, an analyst said deliveries might not start until late 2018.